Suddenly
by TheRealXenocide
Summary: A tragic death forces another to admit feelings and face mistakes. Will these events shatter him? WARNING: Don't read where you'd be embarassed to be seen in tears.
1. Gone

Suddenly  
by TheRealXenocide  
  
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Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer. While I'm sure that, buried somewhere in the mass of stories here, there's an L/G story that sounds like this, I can honestly say that I haven't seen it. But this story came to me so fully, I had to write it.  
  
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Notes: First, this story has absolutely no connection to any other story I've written. For that matter, it has no bearing on anything I've thought up, but not written.  
  
Second: At the beginning of this story, the surviving members of the trio are 30, and Matt is 27.  
  
Third: Yes, you read that right. Surviving members. Somebody died days before the start of this story. The how will be revealed in the story. The why . . . I don't think we'll ever fully be able to answer that, either for the character or the real people who die under the same circumstances.  
  
Fourth: This will be a very short fic. Five short chapters, and it's done. I hope, once you've read it, you'll understand why.  
  
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Chapter 1  
Gone  
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As 27-year-old Matt McGuire placed the flowers he brought on the fresh dirt of the grave, he wiped the last of the tears away. He was glad nobody else was there, as he'd spend the last fifteen minutes bawling his eyes out. It hurt so much to think about, he'd refused to allow himself to feel anything. But her headstone brought it crashing home.  
  
Miranda Sanchez, his best friend in the world, was dead. Murdered by her abusive husband.  
  
Matt could never understand how Miranda, or any woman, could live like that. Oh, she'd left Todd several times. But every time, he'd wait awhile, then beg her to come back. It took some time, but she always did. 'Why? She was always such a strong person, why would she go back?'  
  
Matt remembered the last time vividly. When she'd shown up at his door with the girls, he didn't hesitate. Of course they could stay. The girls got the large master bed, Miranda got the couch, and Matt used a sleeping bag. Not comfortable for him, but he managed. The next day, when he knew Todd would be home and Miranda would be occupied, Matt gathered his brother-in-law, David Gordon, and Miranda's father, Edward, together. Having tried other ways in the past, they spoke to Todd in a language he'd understand, fists.  
  
Obviously, even that hadn't worked.  
  
He remembered the day she decided to go back that last time. He'd begged her, literally on his knees, not to go. He was so afraid for her and the girls. Things had gotten so intense, he'd almost let he's secret slip. But he'd choked it back. Once she was gone, he'd broken down. Why did he hold back? Maybe, if she knew, she'd have stayed. But something kept him from saying it, every time.  
  
And now, the woman he loves is dead, and part of him felt like he'd killed her.  
  
Matt was sure he was alone. So he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a familiar female voice. "You loved her, didn't you?" 


	2. Alone

Suddenly  
by TheRealXenocide  
  
`   
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer.  
  
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Chapter 2  
Alone  
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Matt whipped around at the sound. Melina, his ex-wife, was standing not five yards from him. "What?"  
  
"You loved her. It's so obvious."  
  
"I don't know what . . ."  
  
"If you're going to lie, shut up! Why do you think I left you? Why do you think I got involved with somebody else?"  
  
"With Lanny."  
  
"HE. WAS. THERE. You spent so much time with Miranda and the girls. Away from me, your WIFE. Did you even notice that we had only made love once in the last year together? As much as I loved you, I couldn't take it anymore. I went to him to talk, and things developed. That's when I really realized it."  
  
"What, that you love him?"  
  
"Lanny loves me, deeply. Loving him was so different than loving you. I realized, finally, that you loved somebody else. It didn't take a genius to figure out who it was."  
  
"Is." Matt corrected, finally admitting it. "Her death doesn't kill my love for her."  
  
"Matt, I know you don't like me right now, but you need to know this. I never wanted this for her. She didn't deserve this. Nobody does."  
  
Later, he'd realize the depth of this moment. Now, however, she was one of the last people he wanted. "Please go."  
  
She was stung by that, but had expected it. She placed the flowers she brought on the grave, and left.  
  
And again, Matt was alone.  
  
Again, reality punched him.  
  
Again, he fell to the ground, and sobbed. 


	3. Found

Suddenly  
by TheRealXenocide  
  
`   
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer.  
  
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Chapter 3  
Found  
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Matt awoke to a room both strange and familiar. This wasn't his apartment, but . . . his room?!? Yet, not his room, because he was on a couch, and there was a lot of sewing equipment.  
  
The door slowly opened, and his mother's head appeared. She saw he was awake, and hurried in. "Are you okay, honey?"  
  
"I guess. What happened?"  
  
"Gordo and Lizzie found you at her grave. It looked like you . . . cried yourself to sleep."  
  
His face flushed red hearing this. "Oh, man."  
  
"I'm glad you're finally letting yourself grieve." Jo said bluntly. "As much as you care for her, I was beginning to worry."  
  
He blinked at her in amazement. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"A mother can see things, Matt. You loved her."  
  
"Love her." It flew from his mouth before he could stop it. "How long have you known?"  
  
"When you two first became friends, that's all is was. I think it was four years later, when she came back for the summer after her first year at UCLA, that I thought you two might be building up to something more. It wasn't until you learned she was marrying Todd that I knew you loved her, and I knew she loved you after you and Melina . . ."  
  
"WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Matt couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "She didn't love me. How could she? She never . . ."  
  
"Did you ever tell her?"  
  
Those words triggered his grief and guilt, and he once more began to cry. This time, however, his mother was there for him. 


	4. Truth

Suddenly  
by TheRealXenocide  
  
`   
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer.  
  
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Chapter 4  
Truth  
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Two weeks later, Matt was with the rest of Miranda's friends and family her the reading of her will. Matt was pleased to see that the lawyer had called her Miranda Sanchez, just like her headstone read. Her parents made it clear that they didn't want her remembered with her murderer's name. Matt was surprised when he was called into a side office before the reading was to begin. When he took a seat, the lawyer began. "Mr. McGuire. Mrs., I'm sorry, Ms. Sanchez, wrote most of her will out, to be read aloud. However, she also made some tapes as part of her will, each only to be shown to the named people, and only under certain circumstances." He removed two tapes from a large brown envelope labeled 'Matt McGuire'. "You will see one of those. Which one depends on the answer to one question."  
  
"What's the question?"  
  
"Did you love her at the time of her death?"  
  
Matt felt like he'd been pouched in the stomach and testicles at the same time. That question meant only one thing. His mother had been right.  
  
"Mr. McGuire?"  
  
Matt refocused on the man. "Yes. I did, I do, love her."  
  
Without a word, the man put one of the tapes back in the envelope. He then put the other in the VCR on the bookshelf behind him, and pushed play. The tape came to life, and Miranda's face was there.  
  
"Hello, Matt." Matt barely kept from falling apart again. "If you're seeing this, then you were right, and Todd killed me." Now he was confused. If she knew . . . "I can't believe right now I'd ever go back, but I must have." She shook her head. "I can't explain it better than I already have, Matt. But rehashing those arguments isn't why you're here. I need you to know something, if you haven't guessed it. I love you, Matt. I've always been afraid to tell you, but it's true." A small smile came to her face. "I think I understand Lizzie and Gordo better now." His hold was slipping. "Don't cry. I know you too well. You're probably blaming yourself for this. Don't. I hid from it as much as you did." He knew she was right, but that didn't make it hurt any less. "I have so much to say, but I don't know how. Besides, at the time I'm recording this, I have no idea how you feel, and I don't want to get too worked up, just in case I'm wrong. Instead, I have a final favor to ask of you."  
  
"Name it." He said aloud, even though she couldn't hear.  
  
"If you're seeing this, then Maggie and Sara either have no parents left, or the only one left is in prison." Actually, Todd had gone to prison, but was killed in a fight earlier that week. "Mom and Dad would take them, of course, but their not as young as they used to be. Matt, I know it's asking a lot, but would you be willing to care for my girls?"  
  
He didn't need to think about it. 


	5. Home

Suddenly  
by TheRealXenocide  
  
`   
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer.  
  
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Chapter 5  
Home  
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62 Years Later:  
  
Sara Sanchez Bryant knelt at the fresh dug ground, her tears coming slowly. He's passing had almost been a blessing, with what the cancer done to him this last year, but it still hurt to loss him. They'd buried the man who'd raised her since she was three earlier that day, but she couldn't leave him yet.  
  
Her husband understood. He'd admired the man from the moment they'd met. It had taken some time to get the same from him, but after hearing what had happened to her mother, he understood why.  
  
"We said everything before you died, dad, but I need to say this again. You took us in when you didn't have to. I know you loved mom, but we were the children of a man you hated. Yet you never once treated us as anything less than your own. Maggie and I couldn't think of anything that could be thank you enough. Then Aunt Lizzie told use about what she and Uncle David did for his parents, and we knew it was perfect." She gently touched the new grave marker. "I hope it helps you find peace with her at last." With it, she walked away before she lost her control.  
  
What she walked away from was a double sized grave maker. On the left was the new name, with fresh dug earth in front of it. On the right was the name of the occupant of the neighboring grave, it's 62-year-old marker having been removed to make room for this one:  
  
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Matthew McGuire - - - Miranda Sanchez  
  
Together At Last  
Together Forever 


End file.
